Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has assured Affordable Housing interns that their delayed stipends will be paid by Thursday, following growing concern over the late disbursement of last month’s payments.
Speaking during an interview on NTV, Hinga was responding to a question from one of the Boma Yangu Affordable Housing interns who sought clarity on the delayed stipend payments.
“Hi, please ask the PS if he is aware that the Boma Yangu interns have not been paid last month’s stipend,” the intern posed.
In response, Hinga said the payments were expected to be released without further delay.
“It should come today, or tomorrow, or by Thursday at the latest; they should be paid. But I will follow up immediately after I leave this place,” he stated.
The PS explained that the delay was caused by a mix-up involving two separate funding streams — one from the National Treasury and another from the housing levy managed under the Affordable Housing Board.
According to Hinga, the ministry’s finance department mistakenly merged the two payroll systems, making it difficult to separate and process payments for interns and other staff.
As a result, payments across the ministry were affected, including salaries for senior officials.
“It is true the interns have not been paid, and no one has been paid, actually, even myself,” he revealed.
Hinga dismissed speculation that the ministry was facing a cash crunch or lacked funds to sustain the housing programme and its workforce.
He clarified that the required funds had already been received from the National Treasury, and the problem was purely administrative.
“But the money we have. It is just some mistake that should not have happened in terms of processing the two payrolls,” he reaffirmed.
He further pledged that the ministry would put measures in place to ensure such delays do not happen again, noting that many livelihoods depend on the affordable housing programme.